Who are the most recently appointed directors and C-levels in Belux? October was a month of renewal, especially for European and international organizations.

Erik Heggen

Erik Heggen has been appointed new Chief Executive Officer of Yuzzu. He will take office on 1^st December 2022, after approval of the Belgian National Bank. He succeeds to Hélène Portegies.

He started his career at AXA in 2016 in the Distribution department. Later on, he joined the head office of the group in Paris and greatly contributed to the development of the ‘Ambition 2020’ strategy. Mid-2022, he joined Yuzzu as Chief Customer Experience Officer, in charge of marketing, online sales and partnerships.

Erik Heggen graduated as a Commercial Engineer at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Christophe Hamal

Christophe Hamal becomes Chief Executive Officer of Baloise Belgium. Member of the Executive Committee since May 2022, he succeeds Henk Janssen. Henk Jassen will retire in January 2023 and will in the meantime ensure the transition with Christophe Hamal.

As a member of the Executive Committee, he focuses on the strategic objectives of the company and meets various departments and colleagues. Before that, he was CEO of Buy Way, a Belgian fintech, for five years. He also has considerable experience in financial consultancy.

Christophe Hamal has a master’s degree in Management Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and an MBA from the Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).

Hélène Portegies

Hélène Portegies, former Chief Executive Officer of Yuzzu, will be the new Chief People and Communication Officer of Allianz Benelux. She will therefore be a member of the Board of Management.

Prior to her appointment, Hélène Portegies was CEO of Yuzzu for five years. She has considerable experience in financial services, having been in charge of product development, marketing, operations, and IT.

As Chief People and Communication Officer, she will be in charge of human resources management, communication, branding, and sustainability of Allianz Benelux.

Lize-Mari Barnes

Lize-Mari Barnes has been appointed General Manager of Swiss Re Luxembourg. She succeeds Ivo Hux and will take office as from 1^st January 2023.

Lize-Mari Barnes has joined the group for more than 16 years now. She became Chief Financial Officer Reinsurance EMEA in May 2012. She will maintain this position, in addition to her new appointment as General Manager.

Lutz Wilhelmy

On 7 October, the European Actuarial Association (EAA) elected Lutz Wilhelmy, a German native working in Switzerland, as its new President.

Lutz has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2017 and has also been a Full Member, Delegate to the Professionalism Committee, Honorary Treasurer, etc. In addition, Lutz is Vice President of the Swiss counterpart association and was a member of the EIOPA Advisory Expert Group. The new EAA President has a master’s degree in Theoretical Physics and a Ph.D. in Mathematics, both from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich.

Jean-Paul Servais

End of October, Jean-Paul Servais, the actual President of the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), has been elected President for two years of the OICV-IOSCO, International Organisation of Securities Commissions.

A Belgian presidency is the first time in the history of the organization. The objective of the OICV-IOSCO is to promote sound and proper market practices worldwide and thereby contribute to the protection of investors and the integrity of financial markets. The organisation controls 95% of the world’s financial sector.

Since 2016, Jean-Paul Servais has been Vice-President of the international organisation. Additionally, he heads the European Regional Committee, has chaired the Finance and Audit Committee, and led a working group on the regulation of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). On behalf of the organisation, he has also served as Chair of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, which oversees the work on sustainability reporting by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and as Co-Chair of the Monitoring Group on Audit.

Sources:

• Assuropolis, Erik Heggen est nommé CEO de l’assureur direct Yuzzu
• Assuropolis, Hélène Portegies nouveau membre du Board of Management d’Allianz Benelux
• Actuary, Actuarial Association of Europe elects new Chairperson
• Assuropolis, Christophe Hamal devient CEO de Baloise en Belgique
• Paperjam, Lize-Mari Barnes à la tête de Swiss Re Luxembourg
• Assuropolis, Jean-Paul Servais élu nouveau président de l’organisation internationale des commissions de valeurs

Who are the most recently appointed directors and C-levels? This summer has been quiet in terms of nominations.

FSMA

Jean-Paul Servais © FSMA

The FSMA (Financial Services and Markets Authority) re-elected Jean-Paul Servais as Chairman of the European Regional Committee of the global organization IOSCO. On his way for another two-year term, Jean-Paul Servais has held this position since October 2014.

Founded in 1983, the IOSCO aims at promoting collaboration between market supervisors and developing international standards as well as best practices. The organization counts 130 partners that are supervisory authorities across 115 countries, which represent 95% of the global financial sector. Organized in 4 regional committees, the IOSCO comprises the European Regional Committee which is composed by 51 European members.

Belfius Insurance

Daniela Rizzo & Matthias Baillieul © Belfius

Belfius has strengthened its Management Committee by appointing Daniela Rizzo and Matthias Baillieul.

Daniela Rizzo is the new Executive Director Non-Life. She has occupied for years several senior management positions in retail and life insurance for both Belfius Bank and Belfius Insurance.

As for Matthias Baillieul, he now endorses the role of CFO. Former lawyer, he has many years of experience in various financial areas at Belfius Bank.

LLoyd’s Europe

Bertrand Heugues © Linkedin

Lloyd’s Europe, the Brussels-based European subsidiary of Lloyd’s of London, has hired Bertrand Heugues, as its new Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO).

Before joining Lloyd’s Europe, he was Ageas Brussels’ Global Head of Pricing. Among his professional experiences, he started his career in 2005 at AXA and also worked for the broker March as well as Generali.

Sources:

• Assuropolis, Le président de la FSMA Jean-Paul Servais réélu à la présidence du Comité régional européen de l’organisation mondiale OICV-IOSCO
• Assuropolis, Le comité de direction de Belfius Insurance se renforce
• Atlas Magazine, Lloyd’s Europe, appointment of a Chief Underwriting Officer